LB 77 survived a 14-hour filibuster by gun rights opponents this week only to be swept through the state Senate with a 33-14 vote. Nebraska residents already enjoy open carry freedoms, and Gov. Jim Pillen (R) is expected to expand that right by adding his signature to LB 77.
Nebraska will be the 27th state to approve constitutional carry.
Current restrictions require state residents to submit to a Nebraska State Patrol background check, get fingerprinted, and pay for a gun safety course to legally concealed carry.
The soon-to-be law stays within federal requirements for a background check to purchase a weapon, and those previously barred for criminal or mental health issues will still be prohibited.
But it eliminates the current requirement that law-abiding citizens must pay the government for a permit, and they will no longer be required to take a safety course. Eligible gun owners will now be able to keep a firearm concealed in their clothing or within their vehicles.
Permits will still be available for those who want to utilize reciprocity in states that recognize those issued by Nebraska.
The measure also reinforces preemption, which grants state authorities the sole power to regulate guns. Proponents hail this move as an effective step to prevent Nebraska’s cities and counties from enacting confusing and piecemeal restrictions that vary from location to location.
The statute further overrules more stringent laws in Nebraska cities. For example, Omaha stipulates a gun owner must have a concealed carry license to have a weapon in their vehicle even if it is kept in plain sight. Opposition centered on the urban areas of Omaha and Lincoln
As has become the pattern, opponents of the Second Amendment crowded into the balcony of the legislative chamber for Wednesday’s showdown. A woman was escorted out by security personnel for yelling “Shame!” numerous times at lawmakers.
Sen. Tom Brewer (R) of Gordon, the sponsor of LB 77, told reporters he grew frustrated with the long road to constitutional carry for Nebraskans. He spearheaded the effort since 2017 to get the measure through the legislature, though he said the debate over gun control “is not an easy thing.”
He explained that sometimes state lawmakers thwart the will of the people and “go out of the way and twist those rights and keep people from having them.”
Brewer noted the current prohibition on concealed carry without a permit as one of those instances.
Vocal opposition was led by Sen. Jane Raybould (D) of Lincoln, who referenced the Columbine mass shooting in her plea with her colleagues. Noting the pending anniversary of the tragedy, she said “we talk about gun rights. What about the rights of all those adults and children gunned down?”
However, Nebraska director for the National Rifle Association (NRA) Travis Couture-Lovelady celebrated the pending change. He declared the state will be the 27th “that protects the right of Americans to carry a firearm outside of their home without first asking the government for additional permission and paying additional fees.”
He declared the gun rights organization is working state-by-state to sweep away “burdensome carry requirements” that have placed shackles on citizens for “far too long.”
Couture-Lovelady added that Nebraska’s action confirms what much of the nation already realizes — it is criminals, not law-abiding citizens, who are the problem.
That is a noteworthy observation. Lawmakers across the nation are recognizing that the efforts of the anti-gun lobby, though at times well-intentioned, are misplaced. Energy exerted on stripping gun rights away from the populace are better aimed at increased security and keeping violent criminals off the streets.
